With talks uncertain, Trump again claims 'obliteration' of Iran's nuclear program

U.S. President Donald Trump hailed last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites as a “complete and total obliteration,” even as diplomatic efforts remain uncertain. Iran is weighing participation in U.S.-Iran peace talks in Pakistan, though tensions persist over alleged ceasefire violations and unresolved obstacles to negotiations.

Daniel Lim/Reuters

April 21, 2026

With talks uncertain, Trump again claims 'obliteration' of Iran's nuclear program

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to members of the media aboard Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., April 17, 2026.

Evan Vucci/Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (April 20) called the strikes carried out by the U.S. last year under the code name Operation Midnight Hammer a "complete and total obliteration" of Iran's nuclear sites, as talks between the two countries remain uncertain.

The 2025 attack was the U.S. military's only offensive action in the Twelve-Day War, which began on June 13 with surprise Israeli strikes and ended with a ceasefire on June 24, 2025.

Iran is considering attending peace talks with the United States in Pakistan, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, following moves by Islamabad to end a U.S. blockade of Iran's ports, a significant obstacle to Tehran rejoining peace efforts as the end of a two-week ceasefire approaches.

However, the official stressed that no decision had been made, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that "continued violations of the ceasefire" by the U.S. are a major obstacle to continuing the diplomatic process.

-Daniel Lim/Reuters